Bed.



C. B. CHENAULT.

BED.

APPLICATION FILED APR. 6. i915.

Patented Dec. 12, 1916.

.3 SHEETS-SHEET I.

C. B. CHENAULT.

BED.

APPLICATION FILED APR. 6, 1915.

Patented Dec. 12 1916.

3 SHEETSSHEET 2.

BED.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Dec. 12, 19146.

Application filed April 6, 1315. Serial No. 19,588.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, COLBY B. GHENAULT, a citizen of theUnited States, residing at Oklahoma city, in the countyofOklahoma and State of Oklahoma, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Beds, of which the following is a specification.

This invention has particular reference to spring bed bottoms, and the primaryobject of the invention is to provide a bed bottom which will remain horizontal when weight is applied thereto Without regard to the amount of the weight or the point of its application.

Other objects of the invention are to provide a mattress support which will not sag through 1188, and which will possess sufiicient flexibility to insure the desired comfort to a sleeper or a person reclining upon the bed; to provide a spring bed bottom which will be sanitary and noiseless in its action and -in which the mattress support may be easily placed upon or removed from the supporting springs and will be held against displacement when in position, and to provide a construction which will resist any tendency of the head or foot irons of the mattress support to bend or sag when the said support is stretchedbetween said irons.

Other incidental objects of the invention will appear as the description of the same proceeds, and the invention resides in certain novel features which will be particularly pointed out in the claims following the detailed description.

In the accompanying drawings, which show what I now believe to be the best embodiment of the invention, Figure 1 is a perspective view ofa bedstead having my improved bed bottom applied thereto; Fig. 2 is a transverse section of the same; Fig. 3 is a detail perspective view of the spring supports and the equalizing levers carried thereby; Fig. 4 is a longitudinal section of the bedstead and the spring bottom in position thereon; Fig. 5 is an enlarged end view of the springs and their supports; Figs. 6 and 7 are enlarged detail planviews of portions of the mattress support showing the manner in which the parts of the same are assembled Fig. 8 is a detail section on the line 88 of Fig. 7 Fig. 9 is a detail bottom plan view of one of the angle bars which forms the end of the mattress support; Fig. 10 is a-detail sectional view of a portion .of one ofthe lower supports for the springs; and Fig. 11 isa detail view.

The bedstead maybe of any preferred or usual construction, and in the drawings'I have, for convenience, illustrated a metallic bedstead comprising a head 1,afoot2, and side bars or rails 3 connecting the same.

In carrying out my invention, I employ a pair of lower cross bars 4, which have their ends turned up, as shown at 6,1and then carried outwardly, as shown at 7, to' provide hooks adapted to engage over the side bars or rails 3, as clearly shown in the drawings. It will be noted that the outstanding portions of these supporting hooks are wider than the side rails or bars, and this construction permits the cross bars to be applied to bedsteads of different widths within reasonable limits. The said cross bars 4 are connected at the bases of the upturned portions 6 by bars or other rigidconnections 8 whereby the extremities of the cross bars are held in the proper relation and collapse of the structure prevented. The intermediate portions of these cross bars 4 are brought closer together and are held in their spaced relation by bolts 9'upon which are mounted bushings, sleevesor spacing collars 10, and the equalizing levers 11 are fulcrumed upon said bushings or spacing collars, the inner ends of said levers being connected by links 12, as shown. Each lever consists of a pair of similar bars offset at their ends, as shown at 11; and at their central portions, as shown at 11, whereby a wide'hub or pivotal portion will be provided and forks will be formed at their ends to receive connecting links. The length of the collars 10 exceeds the width of the levers so that, while the supporting bars 4 may be firmly clamped together, the levers may swing freely. To the outer ends of the said levers, I pivotally attach the lower ends of links 13, which have their upper ends connected to the hangers 14: depending from the upper spring retainers 15, and an upper brace or supporting bar 15 extends between said spring retainers, the upper supporting bar 15 be ing provided near its ends with upstanding pins or studs 16 adapted to engage the bed top or mattress support, as will be presently more specifically described. The upper supporting bar 15 is connected to the spring retainer 15 by a bolt or rivet inserted through said members, and it will be noted that the upper ends'of the hangers 14 diverge and are riveted to the spring retainer so that a wide support for the same is provided. The lower portions of the hangers fit close to the opposite sides of the links 13 and are pivoted thereto at their lower extremities, as shown at 16, the said links being provided with slightly elongated openings or slots 17 near their upper ends through which pass rivets 18 carried by the hangers just below the divergent upper portions thereof.

Through the spring retainer 15, adjacent the ends thereof, I insert pins 19 which extend parallel with the supporting bars and are provided with slight notches in their under surfaces. The spring retainer is also .provided with perforations or openings 20 at opposite sides of the said pins 19, and the upper coils of conical coiled springs 21 are inserted through the said openings and engaged in the notches in the pins 19 so that the said springs will be firmly secured and retained in theiroperative positions at their upper ends. In the upper edges of the lower cross bars 4, I provide notches 22 which are of overhanging construction and are adapted, to receive and support the lowest coils of the respective springs 21 and prevent spreading of the same. Rubber, leather or other flexible washers 25 are provided upon the upper edges of these lower supporting bars 4 immediately adjacent the notches 22 so as to receive the coils immediately above the lowest coils of the springs, when the said springs are compressed, thereby eliminating any noise which might otherwise occur during said compression. To the outer sides of the main cross bars 4, near the outer ends of the same, I secure the upturned portions 23 of brackets or stirrups 23 which constitute rigid connections between the cross bars, as;will be readily understood. The extreme outer upper portions of these brackets or stirrups are carried laterally away from the) cross bars t and their terminals are formed into hooks 24 which engage the lowest coils of the springs, as shown in Fig. 5. Brackets or arms 24; are secured to the inner sides of the bars 4 by the same rivets which secure the stirrups thereto and these arms have their ends formed into hooks whichalso engage thelowest coils of the springs and are positively prevented from spreading laterally.

The bed-top or mattress support comprises sidebars or tubes 26' and head and foot angle irons 27, provided on their inner sides or faces with sockets 28 which receive the ends of the saidside bars or tubes. The sockets and the ends of the tubes may be constructed in any desired manner to pre vent rotation of the tubes after the parts are assembled, and. I have illustrated pins or lugs 29 projecting from the ends of the tubes and engaging slots or notches 30 in the sockets, as shown most clearly in Fig. +3.

The upper flange of each angle iron is provided with a longitudinal series of openings 31 and open links 32 are engaged in the openings in the foot angle iron, while helical springs 33 are engaged in the openings of the head angle iron. The respectively alined links 32 and springs 33 are connected by flexible metallic strips 34 having their ends engaged respectively by the said links and springs, as clearly shown in Figs. 1 and 4'. These flexible metallic strips 34; extend longitudinally of the bed, as will be readily understood, and may be of any desired number. They are provided throughout their length with series of short longitudinally may be readilyinserted downwardly through the slots in the several strips by arranging the wires at an angle to the strips corresponding to the angle between the loops and the wires upon which the loops are formed.

If the strips be then swung so as to cause the 1 wires to assume a position at right angles to the strips, the loops will be turned so as to extend across the slots, as shown in Fig. 7 and the strips will be thereby retained in their proper spaced relation. vide a mattress support which will be light, strong, and may be easily assembled, and which, when in use, will furnish a support coextensive with the mattress so that ging of the mattress will be prevented.

The side bars or tubes 26 are provided near their extremities with sockets or openings adapted to be engaged by the pins or studs 16 projecting from the upper supporting bar 15 so that the mattress support or bed top will be held against lateral displace ment after it has been assembled in its proper relation to the springs. A brace rod 38 is provided on the under side of the upper I thus proflange of each angle iron 27, and this brace i1 rod has its ends inserted through suitable openings 39 in the vertical flange of the angle iron, and then turned longitudinally against the outer face of said flange, as

shown clearly in Fig. 9, the intermediate 1 1 portion of the brace rod being bowed and carried around a rivet or stud to on the under side of the other flange of the angle. iron so that any strain tending to bend the said flange downwardly will be resisted by connection with the accompanying drawescapee ings, it will be seen that I=have provided an exceedingly simple, efficient and economical bed bottom, the parts of which may be readily assembled, and by the use of which the ends of the mattress will be maintained in a horizontal position, notwithstanding a weight may be placed upon one corner of the mattress. When the bed is not in use, the springs 21 will be expanded, and the equalizing levers 11 will be in the position shown in Fig. 2, inasmuch as the expansion of the springs will lift the upper cross bar 15 and exert an upward force upon the links 13 and hangers 14 attached to said levers. If a weight be applied to one edge or side of the mattress, the springs at that side will obviously be compressed, and a downward movement will be imparted to the adjacent end of the upper cross bar 15, which I ill cause the outer end of the adjacent equalizing lever to swing downwardly. Inasmuch as the equalizing lever is fulcrumed midway its ends and is connected by the link 12 with the inner end of the equalizing lever at the opposite side of the bed, the inner ends of both levers will be swung upwardly to the same extent that the outer end of the lever receiving the weight is swung downwardly. Of course, the outer end of the connected lever is swung downwardly to a similar extent, and the springs co-acting with the outer end of said lever will be compressed so that the cross bar 15 will be lowered at both ends, and the horizontal position of the bed top and the mattress maintained.

When the outer ends of the levers swing downwardly they have a slight inward. movement inasmuch as they move concentrically with the fulcrums of the levers, and this movement is, of course, imparted to the lower ends of the attached links. Were the connection between the link and the end of the upper cross bar 15 rigid, breakage of some of the parts might occur, but I accommodate this movement by pivotally connecting the hangers to the links and limiting the play by a pm and slot connection above the pivot as shown in Fig. 11. The bed top or mattress support may be easily placed in position upon the upper supporting bars by lifting one of the side bars or tubes 26 over the ends of the said bars, and then sliding the bed top upon the bars until the entire mattress support is over the same. It is then a very simple matter to engage the studs or pins 16 in the openings in the said side bars 26 and thereby secure the mattress support in place. Obviously, the releasing operation may be as easily performed when it is desired to remove the mattress support for any reason.

The strips 34 of the mattress support will be sufliciently flexible to yield to the body of a sleeper, and the provision of the springs 33 will increase the comfort to be derived from the use of the structure, and due to the flexibility of the saidstrips and the provision of the springs, the support willinstantly resume its normal position whenthe weight has been removed therefrom so that wear and sagging ofthemattress will be diminished. The ends of the upper cross bar or support 15 are disposed over the ends of the equalizing levers, but the intermediate portion of said upper cross bar or support may be bent to one side so as to be onto-f the path of the inner ends of said levers and thereby avoid the presence of any obstacle to. the full movement of the said levers.

WVhile I have illustrated two sets of cross bars and equalizing leverswith the cooperating springs, it is to be understood that a greater number of these elements may be used, if desired, and other minor changes may be made in the details of construction and arrangement without involving any departure from the spirit or scope of my invention, as the same is defined in the following claims.

Having thus described the invention, what is claimed as new is 1. In a bed, the combination of upper and lower supporting members, the lower member being adapted to engage the side rails of a bedstead and the upper member being adapted to support a bed bottom, hangers connected to the ends of the upper supporting member, equalizing levers pivotally connected at their outer ends with said hangers and fulcrumed between their ends upon the lower supporting member, a movable connection between the inner ends of said levers, spring-retainers at the ends of the upper supporting member and extending laterally from the same and said hangers and springs resting upon the lower supporting member and operatively connected at their upper ends with the said retainers.

2. In a bed, the combination of a lower supporting member, an upper supporting member, equalizing levers fulcrumed upon the lower supporting member and having their outer ends connected with the outer ends of the upper supporting member, a movable connection between the inner ends of said levers, laterally projecting spring retainers carried by the ends of the upper supporting member, and springs disposed at the sides of the supporting members having their lower ends fitted upon the lower supporting member and their upper ends secured to said retainers.

3. In a bed, the combination of spaced lower supporting bars, means connecting said bars and holding them in spaced relation, equalizing levers fulcrumed between the said bars, a link connecting the inner ends of said levers, an upper supporting bar, connections between the outer ends of the levers and the ends of said upper supporting bar, a spring retainer secured upon the end of said upper supporting bar and projecting laterally therefrom, and springs having their lower ends secured upon the lower supporting bars and their upper ends secured to the ends of said retainer.

4:. In a bed, the combination of lower supporting bars provided with notches in their upper edges having overhanging walls, lateral projections on said bars, an upper supporting bar, spring retainers secured to the ends of the said upper supporting bar and projecting laterally therefrom, longitudinal projections at the ends of said retainers having notches in their under surfaces, equaliz ing devices carried by the lower supporting bars and connected to the upper supporting bar, and springs having their lowermost coils engaged in the notches in the lower supporting-bars and the projections thereon and their uppermost coils inserted through the spring retainers and engaging the notches in the projections on said retainers.

5. In a bed, the combination of a pair of supporting bars, stirrups secured to and bridging said bars and projecting laterally from the outer sides thereof at the respective ends of the same, arms secured to and proj ecting laterally from the inner sides of the bars at the ends thereof, springs mounted upon and supported by said stirrups and arms, an upper support, retainers connected with the respective ends of said upper support and engaging the upper ends of the springs, and equalizing connections between said retainers.

In testimony whereof I aflix my signature in presence of two Witnesses.

COLBY B. CHENAULT.

' Copies of this patent may be obtained for five cents each, by addressing the Commissioner of Patents,

Washington, D. 0. 

